Gretzky, Wayne

Wayne Gretzky, in full Wayne Douglas Gretzky, byname the Great One, (born January 26, 1961, Brantford, Ontario, Canada), Canadian ice hockey player who was considered by many to be the greatest player in the history of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Wayne Gretzky

Gretzky began skating at age two and a half and was first taught hockey by his father. By age 6 he was playing as an all-star in novice hockey with boys 10 and 11 years old. He progressed through organized age-group hockey, and in 1977 at the Junior World Cup competition, he was the youngest player and the leading scorer. Gretzky turned professional for the 1978–79 season, playing for the Indianapolis Racers in the World Hockey Association (WHA). His contract soon was sold to the Edmonton Oilers, who joined the NHL at the beginning of the 1979–80 season. As centre and team captain, Gretzky led the Oilers to four Stanley Cup victories (in the 1983–84, 1984–85, 1986–87, and 1987–88 seasons). Following the 1987–88 season, he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings.

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Gretzky’s finesse and speed revolutionized the sport, which had been known for its physical play. In his first season with the Oilers, he scored 51 goals and 86 assists (137 total points). In the 1980–81 season he became the first player in NHL history to average more than two points a game. In the 1981–82 season he set NHL regular-season scoring records for goals (92), assists (120), and total points (212). (He broke the latter two records in the 1985–86 season with 163 assists and 215 total points.) Gretzky won the Art Ross Memorial Trophy (leading NHL scorer) for seven consecutive years, from the 1980–81 to the 1986–87 season, and won it again in 1989–90, 1990–91, and 1993–94. He was the first player to win the Hart Memorial Trophy, given to the most valuable player each season, for eight consecutive years (from the 1979–80 through the 1986–87 season), and he received it again in 1988–89.

Wayne Gretzky

Wayne Gretzky

Early in the 1989–90 season Gretzky broke Gordie Howe’s NHL all-time scoring record of 1,850 points (the total number of goals and assists), and late in the 1993–94 season he broke Howe’s record for career goals (801). In 1996 Gretzky was traded by the Kings to the St. Louis Blues. Later that year he signed with the New York Rangers. With his 1,851st assist, scored in a 1997 game against the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, Gretzky broke yet another record, scoring more assists than any player had scored points in an NHL career.

Gretzky retired from professional play after the 1998–99 season and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1999. His career totals include 2,857 points and 894 goals. The NHL retired his jersey number (99) after his final game. Gretzky became a minority owner of the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes in 2000, and he was named the Coyotes’ head coach in 2005. The Coyotes struggled during Gretzky’s tenure, and he resigned as head coach in 2009, which was the same year in which he lost his ownership stake when the team filed for bankruptcy and was subsequently purchased by the NHL. In 2016 he returned to the Oilers franchise as a partner and vice chairman. However, he stepped down in 2021 and subsequently become a TV analyst.